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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24520882">Stars and Spirits</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kriber/pseuds/Kriber'>Kriber</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Paranatural (Webcomic), Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Dad Janus, Gen, Human Sides (Sanders Sides), M/M, Oh also, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Teacher AU, Thought that was important, Why? Because, and i find it fun to write him, at least everyone but logan and janus are high schoolers, bc i see him excluded out of fics, but theyre teachers so, character!thomas is here, either way ch1 is the longest, i wrote this all in one day and passed out, ill probably write from diff perspectives later as well tho, might be a oneshot might be a series, paranatural au, patton has crocs, sympathetic in the way that one is a literal teenager and the other is just There, virgil is janus' kid, who knows lmao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:28:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,759</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24520882</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kriber/pseuds/Kriber</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas Sanders just moved to Mayview from the big city and is expecting some big changes. However, he hadn't expected things to go like this. I mean, ghosts? Mediums? Whatever Remus is doing? It's all real?</p><p>At least he has some new friends to help him through this new experience.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Deceit | Janus Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Loceit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stars and Spirits</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i've fallen into fander hell and i can't get up lmao</p><p>i wrote this in one day and honestly? it shows sdfgdsfgddfhfgjh</p><p>yes the chapter title is from the puzzle song i couldn't think of anything clever</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Thomas stared up at the school and swallowed. He was a little nervous, a new school in a new town and a tiny Thomas with no idea what he was doing. The change from the big city to the small Mayview was something he had yet to adapt to, since he had only been here for a day or two with his parents. That, plus the weirdness happening around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes Thomas would look around and see purple blurs around him. Whether floating by him as he crossed the bridge, or tiny ones he tried to either ignore or try not to step on, weird purple blobs were everywhere in this town. ANd yet when he asked his parents about the scuttling violet creature on their new apartment wall, they frowned and asked if he was ok. No one in town seemed to see them. In fact, sometimes Thomas would blink and they would disappear into nothing. It led him to wonder if he was just seeing things, so he decided to try and ignore them for the time being, chalking it up to moving stress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing, he looked around Mayview High once more. The campus was wide and expansive; for a small town it was pretty impressive. Students milled about, talking amongst themselves. It suddenly occurred to Thomas that he had no friends here. He had left Joan and Talyn back in the city before he moved, and while they could call and chat on social media, he missed seeing their faces in person. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, he was Thomas. He was an optimistic, creative, and smart kid (at least that’s what his parents called him). He could make new friends easy peasy! Bracing himself, he stepped through the gates.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And immediately fell over as he felt someone walk into him from behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two of them fumbled around on the floor for a bit, trying to gather themselves. Thomas sat up and shook his head, looking at who bumped into him. It was a boy around his age, with reddish-brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing a white jacket over a black shirt and short brown boots over a comfy pair of jeans. Most noticeably he was wearing a red scarf draped loosely around his neck. He was rubbing his head, his other hand clutching a stack of paper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! I’m so sorry, are you ok?” Thomas reached a hand out to the other boy, who looked at it for a moment before taking it. He hauled him up and they tried to regain their balance. After the other boy managed to lean against the fence, he gave Thomas a dazzling smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m fine! I should be the one to be asking if you’re ok, though,” he chuckled. “I was the one that bumped into you, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I was in the way,” Thomas countered. “I was just staring up at the school unmoving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other boy studied him. “Are you new?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’d you know?” Thomas blinked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m good with faces,” the other boy flicked his hair. It shined in the sunlight. “Mayview is a small town, and the school is even smaller. So we tend to know each other even if we haven’t officially met. So when I see a new face around here, I can only assume you’re new.” He smiled again, offering a hand for a handshake. “My name is Roman Prince. You?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas Sanders!” Thomas accepted the handshake with a smile of his own. After taking a bit longer to look Roman over, he noticed the obvious height difference between them. Roman was a good few inches taller than him, even compared to his own 5’10. It didn’t help that the boots he wore accentuated his height even more, and he carried himself with a prideful demeanor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas then took the next glance at the papers still in Roman’s arms. Some were bent and crumpled from the fall, but overall looked unharmed. “Ah did I ruin your papers?” he asked worriedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman looked over at the stack and looked it over. “No, they should be fine. Besides,” he waved him off, “it’s only a few pages. I can reprint them no problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Thomas sidled up to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s my script for the play I’m a part of!” Roman’s eyes lit up as he showed him the script. “The auditions are soon, and I’m aiming for the main role! I shine my best in the spotlight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s a theater program here?” Thomas exclaimed. Since he was a kid he had always wanted to be a part of the theater, to sing and act onstage. It was a dream since he was tiny, and as his eyes sparkled, he could see Roman perk up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you thinking of joining?” At Thomas’ enthusiastic nod, Roman beamed further. “Amazing! I’ll let the drama teacher know as soon as I can! You should let your counselor know that you want to enter the program!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh-” Thomas remembered. “I need to get my schedule for this semester. Do you know where the office is?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course! Follow me!” Roman led Thomas through the halls of the school. They spent the walk talking about their favorite plays and musicals, bonding over their shared love of theater. Eventually, Thomas picked up his schedule and exited the office. Roman looked the schedule over briefly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like you have Mr. Dee first period,” the thespian mused. “I have him third, I know where his room is.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr. D? Like, the letter?” Thomas cocked his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, D-E-E. There’s a theory that it’s short for something, but we don’t know.” Roman shrugged. “Now come on. I’ll lead the way!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They made their way through the halls. All the while, Thomas could see purple blobs appearing here and there. He even saw what looked like a purple jellyfish on some kid’s cast. Its eyes followed him as he walked past. Roman seemingly didn’t notice them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So… Roman,” Thomas struck up conversation after the previous one died off. “What’s the drama program like? Is it a class or is it an after-school thing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s both!” Roman smiled, beginning to infodump. “There’s the general drama class, but there’s the advanced program that actually puts on shows for the school. Mayview High has a lot of after-school club stuff, so I suggest you join at least one. EVeryone’s at least somewhere.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, I’ll totally join the drama program! You’re in it too, right? At least I’ll have </span>
  <em>
    <span>a</span>
  </em>
  <span> friend there!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman laughed. “True, true! I’m also part of a smaller, more private club with my friends and brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have a brother?” Thomas blinked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Twin,” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “From what I saw in your schedule, you have him in your fifth period. Good luck with him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good luck?” Thomas laughed. “Is he that bad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welllllllllllllllllllll… Let’s just say that if I’m the hero and prince, he’s the villain and adversary,” Roman explained. “The Evil Queen to my Prince Charming, if you will. In fact, he carries this aesthetic everywhere he goes. He’s in the drama program too, but for some reason refuses to play any role that is anything but bad. I genuinely don’t know why; he’s been doing this since we were born.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas laughed at that, then flinched when the bell rang above them. “Oh crap, are we gonna be late?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Thomas,” Roman lifted his hands from his ears. “That was the warning bell. We still have five minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh good,” Thomas sighed in relief. “Are we close?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, your class is over there.” He pointed at a door not too far. “I’ll see you second period?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, cya Roman! Thanks for all the help!” Thomas began walking over, waving his new friend goodbye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah- before you leave,” Roman called back, making his way to the opposite side of the corridor. “Talk to Patton in Dee’s class. He’ll be wearing a gray hoodie over his shoulders and he has pink crocs on. He’ll help!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another round of thank-yous later, Thomas entered the classroom. Desks were arranged in diagonal rows separated in the center by a wide walkway, leaving both halves facing each other and the front of the room. At the front was a whiteboard, today’s homework written in the corner in black. The strangest part about the room was the tank in the back of the room which, if Thomas squinted, had a bunch of snakes curled up under a heat lamp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a look around the students, scanning for Roman’s description of Patton. He finally saw him at the front of the classroom, bouncing his leg and doodling hearts in his notebook. He had golden curls that fell over a pair of black glasses, and freckles danced across his face. His tongue was stuck out as he doodled. The dolphin gray hoodie was indeed there, tied around his neck like a cape (were those pawprints on the sleeves?) atop a light blue tshirt. He had tan cargo shorts and long white socks under… yup, pastel pink crocs. The crocs also had a bunch of mutli-colored charms and hearts and ribbons tied through the holes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas approached the doodler casually and cleared his throat. He looked up, then smiled brightly, making his freckles almost glow. “Hi! What can I do you for, kiddo?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you Patton?” Thomas asked. “I’m new here and Roman told me to talk to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! If RoRo knows you then it’s fine!” He beamed brighter (if that was even possible). “And yea!! I’m Patton Faith, nice to meetcha kiddo!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas Sanders, and uh, kiddo? Aren’t we the same age?” Thomas asked curiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well maybe, but I call everyone kiddo!” Now that his eyes were trained on Thomas, he could see Patton’s eyes were a bright robin blue, light as the sky on a clear day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” Thomas laughed. “So… about Mr. Dee, what’s he like?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh he’s great!” Patton grinned. “He’s the English teacher officially, but he also heads the debate team! And it’s one of the best in the state- at least, that’s what he tells us. I’m actually part of the debate team, so I should know!” He laughed boisterously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t take you for someone who’d be on the debate team,” Thomas laughed too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I use that to my advantage, kiddo! But I’m great at debating under Mr. Dee’s leadership. He’s great! I might even see if he can look you over!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look me over?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re low on members, so we’re trying to get people to join,” Patton explained. “If Mr. Dee sees you have potential, he might let you in!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I was planning on joining drama with Roman and his brother-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh there’s no limit on how many clubs you can join, kiddo! The more the merrier! And the better it’ll look on your school record.” They laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton then perked up and looked at the door. “Mr. Dee is here!” Thomas turned to see someone enter through the door as the bell rang. This man was… odd, to be frank. He had on a bowler hat, the hair underneath an odd mix between blonde and brown. He had a yellow polo shirt under an open black vest and golden gloves concealing his hands. A sleek black cane hung from his forearm. The rest was more boring, with just black jeans and dress shoes. Yet his brown-eyed gaze was sharp and piercing, and as he focused onto Thomas, he felt oddly nervous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t seen you before,” he commented, cocking his head at Thomas. “Transfer student?” At Thomas’ nod, he pointed to an empty desk a few rows from Patton. “Will that be a good place to sit for now? No vision problems?” His voice flowed like silk. That, combined with his off gaze, made Thomas feel like he was being dissected. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, sir,” Thomas managed stiffly. Mr. Dee seemed to notice and softened his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No need to be afraid of me, uh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas Sanders,” he introduced himself, handing the teacher his schedule to sign. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, Thomas, no need to fear me. I may look odd but I can assure you,” Mr. Dee handed back the now signed form, “I’m only here to teach.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, Thomas!” Patton spoke up. “Mr. Dee may look like a snake,” (the “hey” from Mr. Dee went unheard), “but he’s a great teacher and coach! I love the guy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll, uh, take your word for it, Patton,” Thomas rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Mr. Dee.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be, I’m used to it,” the English teacher waved him off. “Now take your seat, Thomas. Class is in session.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>English went by smoothly. Thomas may have been distracted by the unnatural amount of snakes both in the terrarium and as posters on the walls (Mr. Dee sure liked his snakes), and the purple floating snakes that decided to make their home on the teacher’s desk. One even flew up (with like… feathery wings) and wrapped around his hat. No one seemed to notice them, so Thomas pretended he didn’t either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As second period rolled around, Patton showed him the way to his next class, where he met with Roman again. It went well as well, them being able to talk about Disney while class moved on VERY slowly (no one liked math). For nutrition, Roman and Patton joined up with him, showing him around the school so he wouldn’t get lost for third and fourth, since neither were in the classes he had. Roman mentioned someone named Virgil had both third and fourth with him, but didn’t recommend talking to him like he had with Patton.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Third and fourth were boring, normal classes, with boring, normal teachers. Thomas did spot Virgil as Roman had described him (“A depressed purple emo. He’s the living embodiment of a storm cloud.”) in the back of the classrooms, almost blending into the shadows and drawing in a sketchbook. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his classes he kept seeing purple blobs, and they only grew stronger as the day progressed. One even flew at his face, forcing him to duck. A few people stared at him strangely, but he did see a kid with sunglasses and a Starbucks iced coffee (he had seen them as the TA for his fourth period) raise an eyebrow under their black bangs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lunch was chill, and he hung out with Patton and Roman again. When asked about his brother, Roman shrugged, saying something along the lines of “club business.” Finally, it came to fifth period, Roman placing a hand on Thomas’ shoulder and giving him a beautiful melodramatic speech wishing him luck. So there he was, standing in front of the door, bracing himself for the degradation of his mental health, and stepped inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was not there. Roman had described his brother as “someone who constantly exudes villain energies,” yet no one caught his eye with such vibes. EVen as class started and the teacher called out “Remus Prince,” the room went empty. Was he missing? Skipping?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His brother said he was out on ‘club business?’” Thomas offered as he stood by the desk, waiting for the teacher to sign his form. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The teacher sighed. “Again? Ugh, gotta talk to Logan about that then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhat thankful he managed to avoid the disaster that would have been Roman’s brother (Remus, apparently), Thomas spent fifth period in relative silence. A purple creature landed on his desk at one point and tried to read his scribbled notes, which it couldn’t, so it ran off again. Thomas was left staring at purple residue on his notebook, subtly cleaning it up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sixth period finally rolled around, and he got to class without much trouble. There, he was met with the neatest, most school-iest classroom he had ever seen. It was clean and pristine, with desks organized in pods of four. In the back he spotted Roman, Patton, and what he assumed was Virgil. Patton spotted him as well, and waved him over excitedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey guys! Looks like you’re in my sixth period after all!” Thomas greeted, sliding down into the remaining chair. “I’m not in anyone’s seat, am I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, kiddo, it’s free! Gotta tell Logan that’s where you’ll be sitting though,” Patton chirped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Logan? Is that the TA?” Thomas pulled his form out of his notebook, ready to have it be signed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, that’s the teacher,” Virgil spoke up for the first time. He was extremely pale, with heavy bags under his eyes only accentuated by the thick black eyeshadow and eyeliner. His hair was dyed purple and hung in front of his eyes, and his hands were buried in a black and purple hoodie. Though he couldn’t tell clearly, Thomas thought he saw that Virgil’s eyes were different colors, a brown right eye and a green left one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why does he call him Logan then?” Thomas asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve known each other since I was tiny,” Patton chuckled. “Plus, he doesn’t like being called by his last name. Most people call him Mr. Logan anyways. I just drop the ‘Mr’ since I’ve known him my whole life. He’s like an uncle to me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aww that’s cute,” Roman cooed. “Did you survive Remus?” He turned the question to Thomas, who frowned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He wasn’t even there,” Thomas huffed. “Either he’s still on ‘club business’ or he ditched, what seems more accurate to him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman sighed. “He’d be more likely to skip, though if it’s club business then it explains why Mr. Logan isn’t here yet. He’s usually pretty punctual.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well he does have fifth period off,” Virgil yawned. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if it is club stuff.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you all in this club?” Thomas asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it’s the private one I mentioned earlier. It’s invite only, so I apologize, but unless we or Mr. Logan personally invite you, you can’t join,” Roman explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah- it’s fine! No worries!” Thomas held up his hands. “If it’s your thing then it’s no problem! Don’t want to intrude, haha.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Logan’s here!” Patton slapped his hands on his notebook in excitement. Indeed, through the door came a very tall man, probably even taller than Roman. He had straight dark hair and square glasses. He wore a black dress shirt and a blue tie, and black slacks and dress shoes. A clipboard was clutched tightly to his chest. Overall, he looked like the most classic businessman caricature Thomas had ever seen. But something was a little off. Namely, the dark blue smoke wafting off his clothes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apologies for being late, class,” what Thomas assumed to be Mr. Logan began. “I was caught up in important business. But for now, I believe we have a new student. Thomas Sanders?” Thomas jumped at his name being called. “Would you deliver the form to me to turn into the office please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes Mr. Logan.” Thomas got up and gave Logan the form, who studied it before taking it. The blue smoke that flowed from him before was gone, and the only blue things that remained were his tie and his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you like to sit there?” He pointed to where Patton and Virgil were having a click-off with their pens, much to the annoyance of everyone around them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yes,” Thomas nodded. “By the way, is your last name Logan? I heard Roman call you Mr. Logan, and Patton just called you Logan, so…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Logan is my first name,” the teacher pushed his glasses up. “Most call me Mr. Crofter, as it is my surname, but you may feel free to choose between Mr. Logan and Mr. Crofter. I do not mind either one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, thanks Mr. Logan!” Thomas smiled and headed back to his desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As class moved on (history, apparently), Thomas began to notice more and more purple creatures. Between this room and Mr. Dee’s, it was hard to tell which one had a bigger purple-blob-thing population. He had heard some of them speak or make noises, but there was one creature that stood near Logan and mimicked his lecturing. Thomas had to suppress a laugh as he watched the creature over exaggeratingly pointing at and showcasing the whiteboard, making robotic “beep boops” the whole time. He heard a snort behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Virgil covering his mouth with a sleeve to hide what he guessed might be a grin. </span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally class ended (when the purple thing finally left, it got boring) and Thomas shoved his stuff into his bag. After he was done, he noticed Roman hovering over him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking,” the thespian began, “I could take you to the drama teacher and see if he’ll let you into the after-school program. We could use some fresh material!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh sure, sounds amazing!” Thomas beamed. “Lemme just tell my parents. I live within walking distance, I can get home ok.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanna come with you guys!” Patton spoke up beside Roman. “Can I? Can I can I can I?????”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No one’s saying no, Padre,” Remus laughed. “Of course you can join! I mean, all we’re gonna do is talk to the drama teacher, it’s not that exciting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I know, but I wanna hang with my new friend some more!” Patton pouted. “Virge! You wanna join us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil lifted his head from its position on his arms. Was he napping? “Nah, I gotta stay behind anyways. Get Thomas to the drama thing and come back, it's an Activity Club meeting today, don’t forget.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We won’t!” Roman narrowed his eyes at the emo. “No faith in me, really JD-lightful. I expected more.” He headed out the door in faux haughtiness, though Thomas could see Virgil smirking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait up kiddo!” Patton ran after him. Most of the classroom was empty, a couple students staying behind asking Mr. Logan some questions. As Patton exited, the teacher called something after him but gave up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas,” he called to the newbie instead, who jumped. “Can you tell Patton and Roman to come back here as soon as they can? We have important business to talk through.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will do, sir!” Running through the door, Thomas caught up to his new friends. “So… the ‘Activity Club?’” He started, cocking his head curiously. “Virgil mentioned the name.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes, it’s the name of our private club,” Roman shrugged a shoulder. “Specifically vague so nobody wants in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn't a name like that make people want to know about it more though?” Thomas smirked a catty grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea but it sounds cool, doesn’t it~?” Patton mirrored his grin. Thomas made a so-so motion with his hand and Roman gasped in mock offense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, a low growl sounded through the hall. The other two froze, Patton’s hands immediately grabbing at his hoodie and Roman’s at his scarf. Thomas looked around, scared and confused. “Did you guys hear that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- I didn’t hear anything, kiddo,” Patton stammered unconvincingly. “Probably just the AC working.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman’s eyes darted to and fro, taking every inch of the hallway in. “Patton, why don’t you take Thomas on a bit of a detour? He can use the fresh air.” He pulled his scarf off, clutching it rightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah- sure, Roman,” Patton grabbed onto Thomas’ arm, ignoring his sounds of protest. “C’mon kiddo, we should go-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before anyone could go anywhere, the growl started up again, but louder this time. From around the corner, a strange creature emerged. It was still slightly purple, letting Thomas know that it might be related to the purple creatures he’d been seeing all day. Overall, it reminded him of a squid, a long head with a sharp point, big round eyes, and tentacle-like things that dragged behind it. Two long tentacle arms extended from its back and thin insect arms curled up around its abdomen. It floated in the air menacingly, tentacle arms moving slightly. Its eyes took in the three and narrowed. A dark, black smoke flowed from it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton-” Roman warned, stepping into a defensive position. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-yea,” Patton managed. “Thomas we should go-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?” Thomas couldn’t keep it together and tore his arm out of Patton’s grip and pointed at the squid. “What’s it doing here?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can see it?” Patton and Roman cried at the same time. The squid shrieked, demanding attention, and Roman turned back to it. Red smoke began to rise up from his body and his scarf began to change shape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come at me, you foul beast!” Roman pointed his scarf at the squid, a scarf that was now a silky red sword. It glistened in the overhead lights, and despite being made of fabric, it looked as sharp as a normal sword. “I am the hero of Mayview, and I’m here to vanquish you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Careful of the arms, Roman!” Patton unwrapped his hoodie and dropped it. Instead of falling, it remained floating in the air. From this angle, Thomas could see cat ears on top of the hood. Light blue smoke, the same color as his eyes, wisped from Patton. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas, you should get out of here,” he continued, watching as Roman and the squid circled each other. “You could get hurt, kiddo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving you alone with that thing!” Thomas insisted, sweeping an arm at the squid, which was a lot more colorful than before. “You could get hurt!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“And you could </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> get hurt!” Patton placed his hands on Thomas’ shoulders, staring him in the eyes. “Roman and I have experience with spirits, and you have none. We could get hurt, yes, but without a tool or being a medium, you could get seriously injured.” After a second to think, Patton continued. “Go get Logan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Mr. Logan?” Thomas said, confused and scared. “How’s he gonna help?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“He helps more than you think. Now go!” Patton shoved him in the direction of Logan’s classroom, and turned back to the squid. Thomas, too, looked at the squid to see Roman’s scarf sword slicing at the tentacles and Patton’s hoodie flying around, shielding them from the squid’s ink shots. Taking a deep breath, Thomas took off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reaching Mr. Logan’s classroom, he threw the door open. There, he saw Virgil sitting on a group of desks playing with a fidget cube, Mr. Logan erasing his whiteboard, and, strangely enough, the TA from fourth period - the kid with sunglasses and coffee. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they heard the door slam open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas? Is something the matter?” Logan turned towards him cautiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pat- Patton and… and Roman,” Thomas panted. “Gia- giant squid. Danger.” He barely recognized Virgil holding him up before he fell and placing him in an empty seat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Logan-” Virgil began, but was cut off by the teacher grabbing his clipboard and running through the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes. Virgil, Remy, with me. Thomas-” he looked at the out of breath teen. “Stay here. Breathe. I will explain once we come back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil disappeared (Thomas didn’t really notice where he went) and the TA, presumably Remy, pushed themself up off their seat. Taking a closer look now, he could see they had a long black jacket, a white tshirt with the word SLEEP written on it in what looked like sharpie, and gray pants. The sunglasses stayed on, as did his smile, but the coffee was left behind. They fluffed their dark hair and stretched. “Take care of my coffee, kay?” They stuck their tongue out and ran after the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so Thomas sat there, trying to process everything. Eventually, a crash was heard not too far from the classroom, and he poked his head out the door. The squid was injured and purple stained absolutely everything, and it was yelling really loudly. Roman and Virgil were hacking at it with whatever weapons they had, Roman’s scarf sword and Virgil’s… shadow knives? They straight up looked like blades made of pure darkness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton stood nearby, his hoodie flying around as his arms commanded it to take the ink blasts like a shield. Remy bounced around the squid, hands behind their head as they dodged everything smoothly. Mr. Logan’s clipboard was dispensing sheets of paper and other origami creations, all firing at the squid. All of them were exerting some of that multi-colored smoke, with Remy’s being teal and Virgil’s being purple. Logan’s dark blue was back and Roman and Patton were still smoking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, looks like they’ve got it handled, huh~” A new voice behind him caused Thomas to jump violently. Turning around he saw someone who wasn’t there before. Overall, he looked very similar to Roman; the same green eyes and face. However, his hair was less red and more dusty brown, with a streak of white in the center, altogether tied in a low rattail with a green scrunchie. Most noticeably, he had a small mustache growing above his smirking face. He had a black shirt on with a skull and crossbones, black shorts and… fishnets? Yea, fishnets and tall black boots. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Remus?” Thomas tried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The one and only~!” Remus purred. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How- how’d you get in here? I didn’t see you come in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! I rearranged my whole body’s internal structure to get here!” He answered like he didn’t say something disturbing and strange. “You?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m, uh, trying to hide from the squid,” Thomas pointed at the squid, which Roman was currently wrapping up in his scarf. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus peeked outside, then waved his hand dismissively. “They’ve got it, it looks weak anyways lmao.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Did you just say lmao out loud?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WE GOT IT BITCHES!!” Remy waltzed in, doing a little dance. “I’m so good at Splatoon, gurl, you wouldn’t even believe.” They looked around the room and snatched their coffee from Remus, who had (somehow) made his way to the cup and started sipping from it. “Thomas I told you to keep my coffee safe, didn’t I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t expecting Remus to </span>
  <em>
    <span>teleport</span>
  </em>
  <span>, in my defense!” Thomas defended. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I kid, I kid,” Remy laughed, wiping the straw with a tissue. “It’s Remus, you couldn’t have stopped him anyways.” Remus blew a raspberry at them, who danced away and sat on one of the desk clusters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“REMUS!” Roman stormed through the door and twacked his twin with his scarf, which was now thin and in prime whipping position. “Don’t traumatize the newbie!” Remus only giggled and ran off, prompting Roman to chase him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh you finally met the rat man,” Virgil spoke up from the doorway. He moved back to the desk he was sitting on before the fight, and nonchalantly dodged the fighting brothers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rat man?” Thomas’ question went unanswered as everyone else entered the room. Logan cleared the whiteboard and grabbed a blue marker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I assume you have a few questions?” He placed his clipboard on the marker stand and turned to face Thomas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, just what was that creature out there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was a spirit, and an angry one at that,” Logan began, not noticing Patton drawing a poor rendition of the spirit on the whiteboard in cyan. “Spirits, unlike ghosts, are far more angry and vengeful. They are more likely to become poltergeists and cause real damage to both spectrals and normal people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spirits? Ghosts? Spectrals?” Thomas scratched his head. “What do all those mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, ghosts are dead apparitions of deceased creatures, human or otherwise. Spirits are simply ghosts with more energy and desire to kill. They’re, uh Virgil?” The emo looked up. “What’s the word?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Feral?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, thank you,” Logan continued. “They’re more feral and angry, and far more dangerous. As for spectrals, that is what we are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spectrals are people who can see ghosts!” Patton spoke up, taking his gaze off the whiteboard (and letting Logan see the doodles, to his hidden disappointment). “Have you been seeing purple things recently?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, I have! But I didn’t think anyone else could- my parents didn’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s just because they aren’t spectrals! Only spectrals could see shades - they’re the purple things. They’re basically ghosts but beginner spectrals can’t see them in their true form.” Patton pointed at a random ghost crawling up the wall. “See that guy? What’s it look like to you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas squinted. It looked like a beetle, if a beetle was the size of a basketball and was neon pink. “It’s uh, pretty bright pink.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There we go! No more shades, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not really, no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough, Patton,” Logan interrupted. “I’m the teacher here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Logaaaaaaaaan, I’m trying to help my new friend!” Patton pouted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’ve been a spectral longer than you’ve been alive, so shush,” Logan said matter-of-fact. “Anyways, as Patton mentioned, spectrals are people who can see ghosts. But it isn’t all we can do. We can manifest spectral energy much like a ghost or spirit can, however we are still alive while we do so.” At this, he let some blue smoke waft out from his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! I saw that when you entered class for sixth period!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah. Well, I hadn’t anticipated a new spectral to notice me, as I know all the spectrals in this school. But as it is, I am the head of the Activity Club, more properly known as the Paranatural Activity Club.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a mix of paranormal and supernatural!” Patton chirped. “I came up with it myself!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Zack Morrison did,” Remy muttered. Thomas blinked, but they didn’t elaborate. Plus, no one seemed to hear them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, so, you think I’m a spectral?” Thomas pointed to himself. “But I never saw ghosts before, so why now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mayview has a high spirit population,” Logan began to lecture again. “As for why I know you’re a spectral, there is no way that someone is able to see ghosts and spirits, much less shades and spectral energy, without being a spectral themselves. Spectrals are usually born out of a high accumulation of spiritual exposure, a near-death experience, or, for some reason, a high citrus diet. Perhaps the move to Mayview was the trigger to your awakening as a spectral.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, maybe?” Thomas shrugged. Looking behind him, he saw Roman and Remus chilling at a desk pod playing a card game. Virgil was spectating, half paying attention as he doodled. Looking back, he saw Remy finishing their coffee and Patton furiously doodling as fast as he could as Logan erased the whiteboard with an alarming speed. “Is everyone here a spectral?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, everyone here is indeed a spectral,” Logan stated, pausing the furious erasing. Patton whooped and continued to draw. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does being a spectral just mean being able to see ghosts? Or is there an explanation for Roman’s scarf sword?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! That was a prime demonstration of Roman’s tool.” At Thomas’ blink of confusion, Logan continued. “You see, when a spirit is defeated, they need to retreat somewhere to regain their energy. They usually flee into the nearest object, resulting in a tool. That object is, in essence, possessed. But to normal humans, all it is is an object with a ghost inside. However, spectrals are able to manipulate the energy within the tool and use it to their advantage as the spirit slowly seeps their energy and grows stronger. The energy constantly replenishes, so the spectral isn’t in any danger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea! I’ve had my tool for a few months and it’s been nothing but reliable!” Patton said. “Here, lemme show you how it works!” His hoodie, which he had wrapped around his shoulders again, was untied and tossed. It floated in the air and assumed a few poses (Patton’s hands and arms moved subtly to control it). </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Patton’s tool works as a separate entity that he can control,” Logan explained as Patton demonstrated. “It can float around to wherever Patton controls it, and is imbued with a certain energy that makes it impervious to damage and stains.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am rubber, spirits are glue!” Patton wiggled his hoodie around. “Whatever they do bounces off of my hoodie and sticks to them!” He laughed at his joke, and his hoodie sleeve gave him a high five.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s essentially a mobile shield,” the teacher continued. “He can maneuver it in the way of any attack and it will take the brunt. A lot like, as Patton said, rubber. As well as that, it can unravel into the strings it’s composed of.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t usually do it, so eh,” Patton shrugged, putting his hoodie back around his neck. “Hey Roman!” The redhead perked up. “Show off your sash!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman smiled and skipped to the front (ignoring Remus’ noises of protest as their game was abandoned). His sash/scarf was tied around his whole torso, draping down from his right shoulder and tied at his left hip. He easily tugged it off and whipped it in the air. As it was swung, it hardened and became shinier until it resembled the sword he had before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roman’s sash is capable of being changed on a chemical and physical level,” Logan pointed to the sash, which continued to change into different forms. “It can harden, soften, and change shape into anything.” He frowned when he saw it take the form of a hand flipping him off. “Roman.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So does everyone here have tools?” Thomas interrupted. He was entranced by the sash’s transformative abilities, but was also curious as to what everyone else’s tools were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope!” Remus’ hand landed on his shoulder and Thomas nearly jumped out of his skin. “Some of us ARE the tools~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What Remus is </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say,” Logan straightened his glasses, “is that when spirits need to hide away somewhere to regain their energy, sometimes they cannot find an object to tool up in. Therefore, they tool up in the closest person, be it a spectral or not. These are called mediums, and we have some of our own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I,” Remus purred, “am one of them. However, I wouldn’t call Virgil a medium per se. He’s more of a small or xs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remus I will punt you into the sun,” Virgil shouted from across the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good luck bitch!” Remus shouted back, face split in half with a huge grin. Ignoring Patton’s “language!” Remus turned to Thomas once more. “So I have some pretty cool powers, wanna see them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do I?” Thomas bit his lip nervously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned and his arm straight up melted. It went limp, then reformed itself into a slick black tentacle. “Cool, huh?”<br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the heck???” Thomas ducked away from the tentacle, not wanting to touch the thing. “How’d you do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can rearrange my body into anything I want~!” Remus laughed. Roman rolled his eyes. “So theoretically I can just turn my hair into jellyfish stingers or turn my blood into silver, and I can teleport by turning my skin and organs into the floor or the walls!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>teleport</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Virgil thankfully stopped Remus (Thomas was EXTREMELY grossed out). “You can just move through objects by sort of turning into them. I’m the only one here that can actually teleport.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can teleport?” Thomas thankfully tore his attention off Remus, who pouted and slapped Roman with his tentacle arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, my spirit lets me manipulate shadows n shit,” Virgil hopped off his desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like your shadow knives? I saw you use them against the squid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yea. That, and I can do this.” He ducked under the desks and vanished into the shadows. Someone cleared their throat behind Thomas, and when he turned around, he saw Virgil emerging from under his own desk. “Shadow teleportation.”<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s cool,” Thomas breathed. His head was starting to hurt from all the information suddenly dumped on him, but it was all so cool he ignored it until now. Virgil huffed at the compliment and turned away, not wanting to show his blush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Remy?” Thomas looked at the final member. “Are you a medium too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea but what I can do is a secret~” Remy pointed finger guns at Thomas, sticking their tongue out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They can induce drowsiness and exhaustion in their target,” Logan said, holding his clipboard. Papers flowed from the board, forming two columns currently holding the twins apart from the other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remy frowned. “It was meant to be cool and spooky, Mr. Crofter!” They said in mock offense. “That’s, like, my whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>vibe</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vibe? Is this another one of your slang words?” Logan cocked his head, eyes still locked on the paper columns.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, you’re old, dude~” Remy giggled, leaning back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can I have superpowers too?” Thomas asked, breaking off this conversation. “Not ones like Remus’, but like yours or Roman’s?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh sure kiddo!” Patton sat next to him. “All you gotta do is find a tool or spirit with the same spiritual energy color as yours! Do we have any spare tools Logan?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We do, but without knowing Thomas’ color we can’t be sure we have one that matches,” Logan’s columns began to recede as the twins got bored of trying to fight. “Thomas, can you flare up your energy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know how?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Flex without flexing!” Roman called from the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas blinked. “Uh, ok?” He stuck out an arm and focused on “flexing without flexing.” He felt something inside click, and at the soft gasps around him, he opened his eyes to see his arm covered in rosy pink smoke. “WHOA! COOL!!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pink, huh?” Logan arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think we have one in pink.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, we do!” Remus hopped up. “The spirit we snagged in fifth was pink~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, perfect. Where is its tool?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>As if on cue, someone thrust the door open. Standing there was Mr. Dee, the English teacher. He looked slightly bedraggled and held a camera. “One day.” He hissed. “Can one goddamn day go by without some spirit attack? The hallway is absolutely covered in ink.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll vanish in time, give it a few hours,” Roman waved him off. Patton waved excitedly at his debate team leader, face aglow. Remus stretched his arm, which was still a tentacle, and snatched the camera from Mr. Dee’s arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Logan control your children please,” Mr. Dee sighed in defeat. He pulled his cane from where it was resting in the crook of his elbow and leaned on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jan you know I can’t. They’re too, uh, feral.” Virgil groaned at Logan’s poor usage of modern slang. “They don’t listen to half the rules I set for them.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Be more strict with them, dear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then they’ll hate me. They already gave me the silent treatment once and I don’t want a repeat of that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mr. Dee shrugged. “Then it’s your problem, not mine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shush, snakey.” Logan’s voice was teasing and light, cheeks flushed in perhaps the first emotion Thomas saw on his bespeckled face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, Mr. Dee spotted Thomas sitting awkwardly in the center of the room. “Ah. You’re the new student, correct? Thomas, was it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yea, Mr. Dee,” Thomas nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you a spectral as well?” Mr. Dee cocked his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe?” he shrugged in response. “I just found out today. Remus said there was a tool I could use?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the camera. Remus, give him the camera.” Remus blew a raspberry, but handed Thomas the camera nonetheless. It briefly smoked pink, intertwining with Thomas’ own energy. It almost tickled. Thomas laughed, then looked back up at everyone else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, when he looked up, everyone was transparent and frozen. No one moved a muscle, and Thomas had to strain to see them in the first place. The walls were covered in televisions, playing scenes from cartoons and Disney movies he had grown up with. Moving around the classroom (was he in the classroom anymore? the desks were armchairs and couches now and it didn’t feel like school anymore) and trying to make sense of the bizarre happenings, Thomas breathed heavily. What in the world was happening?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, very sorry, Thomas.” At the sudden voice, Thomas whipped around to see a humanoid figure sitting in one of the couches. He had a tan suit coat over a white dress shirt, tan slacks, and a pink tie. However, his head was that of a television’s, one of those old blocky ones. A pair of white glasses and a smile (at least, it was a curved line that resembled a smile) flickered on the screen. Two pink orbs blinked behind the glasses, probably the thing’s eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What- what are you? Where am I?” Thomas stumbled back, accidentally running into someone (Patton, probably). </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My name is Picani. I’m simply the spirit dwelling inside the camera you are currently holding.” Picani pointed to the camera that, indeed, was still in Thomas’ hands. “I mean you no harm. I just wanted to meet you, so we can actually team up in the future.” In the back, the TVs played various action scenes from different animated shows and movies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re the spirit in this tool?” Thomas inched closer to Picani, who patted the seat next to his. He looked at it for a bit, considering his choices, before plopping down in the seat. It was soft and leather. “Where am I then? The camera?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, you are currently in the spirit world,” Picani explained. The TVs began to show portals and ghosts, and some showed a cartoony version of Thomas himself. “I pulled you into what is a heightened state of perception. Everything here is moving a lot faster than in the real world.” The TVs showed Thomas’ eyes glowing white and moving extremely fast. “To everyone else, you’re moving at the speed of light. Here, they’re all slower than snails.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why’d you bring me here then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it so wrong to get to know my future spectral partner?” Picani’s screen frowned. “If you want to utilize me as a tool, I’d be more than happy to oblige, but only if you want to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, this is just-” Thomas held his head. “There’s been a lot of information dumped on me suddenly. I still need to process everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh I get it, I get it,” he sheepishly tapped his fingers together. “Sorry about adding more stress, Thomas.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine,” Thomas smiled. “If you want, we can talk a bit more tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Picani smiled back. Sparkles floated around his glasses. The TVs mirrored that, with tons of happy sparkles flooding the room in a pink light. “That’d be nice! When you get home, watch some Steven Universe. To get your mind off things, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas grinned and nodded. “Will do!” Suddenly, everything faded. He was back in the classroom, the seat under him was once again plastic, and everyone was looking at him strangely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you talk to the spirit?” Patton popped up from the floor (probably knocked over by Thomas accidentally). “You went all glowy, kiddo!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Oh yea, I did,” Thomas yawned. Was it that late already? “He seemed nice. But is it ok if I leave for today? I’m a bit overwhelmed.”</span>
  <span></span><br/>

  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh of course, Thomas,” Logan straightened his glasses. “Would you like a drive home? I know you said you don’t live far, but I’d rather you get home safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank you Mr. Logan! I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Thomas stood up, then immediately toppled over. Virgil and Patton managed to catch him in time, and Roman caught the camera as it fell off his lap. “Whoooh,” he breathed, head spinning. “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> tired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well sure you are, kiddo!” Patton comforted. “You had to face a giant squid and learned a whole new thing about yourself, you’re bound to be overwhelmed! We’re sorry for the chaos.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Pat, I just need some time to process,” Thomas reassured. Patton smiled gently and let go, leaving him to lean solely on Virgil. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Roman asked hopefully. He handed Thomas back his camera. “You’re joining the club, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yea, sure! Make sure to show me the drama department tomorrow too,” Thomas grabbed the camera, stuffing it into his backpack. Virgil huffed next to him and they slowly walked out of the classroom. Eventually Thomas could walk on his own, and they waved goodbye to everyone else (Remy had fallen asleep, so unlike the twins and Patton, they couldn’t wave back). Logan said something to the group still inside, then headed out with Virgil and Thomas.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, this is a lot to take in on your first day,” a silky voice broke through the haze. Thomas looked up to see Mr. Dee in the hall with them. Something was up with his face and eyes, and as Thomas squinted, he could make out… scales? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Snake…” he muttered. Mr. Dee’s right side of his face was covered in green scales and his eyes were a bright lime green with a thin pupil. His right eye had a large socket under it, making the green stand out more, and his mouth was longer on the snake side. “How..?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mr. Dee chuckled. “Illusions, Thomas. Illusions.” Lifting a hand, he let yellow smoke waft off his glove. “It’s all smoke and mirrors in my world.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil huffed next to him. “Stop being edgy, Dad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad?????” Thomas may have a headache but he was pretty sure he heard that right. Virgil blushed like mad and at Mr. Dee’s continued chuckles, sunk into the floor. He and his shadow vanished, leaving one very confused teen and two adults looking on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yea, Virgil is my son,” Mr. Dee confessed. “He came into my care only recently, so he’s still fairly embarrassed, as all teens are, but I love having him around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You say ‘control your children,’” Logan pushed them both gently, ushering them to the parking lot, “yet one of your own children is there. Shouldn’t you be controlling him instead of me, Jan?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Virge’s your child technically too,” the snake cooed, leaning his head on Logan’s shoulder, who immediately turned red and began smoking blue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop that, Janus,” Logan tapped Mr. Dee with his clipboard, neither action nor words having any bite behind them. He completely melted around Mr. Dee. It was so cute, Thomas realized, smiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You two are really cute,” Thomas commented. The teachers looked at him, as if they forgot about him, then blushed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Thomas. Now, shall we go?” Logan said robotically and powerwalked through the hall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, shall we?” Mr. Dee gave his partner a catty grin as he followed suit, leaving Thomas no choice but to follow as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they exited the school, Thomas frowned at the setting sun. Had they been there for that long? It was unbelievable. Logan was at a large navy Honda, getting into the driver’s seat. Mr. Dee gestured for Thomas to follow, and opened the door opposite Logan. Thomas got in through the passenger door, blinking in surprise at Virgil already sitting there on his phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The drive back to Thomas’ apartment building was short but fine. Thomas took a small nap, head up against the window. Soft classical music played from the radio, and the only lights were from Virgil’s phone and the setting sun. The day’s events played in his head. This was way too much, but strangely, Thomas found himself accepting it. It was odd and unbelievable, but as he saw a giant whale-like ghost float by the car window, he realized that this was just another side of the world he already loved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled fondly. He was always quick to adapt, quick to change. He accepted situations thrown at him by debating with himself and making a clear, concise decision. He was smart like that, and he knew that. But now, with new friends, he knew he could make decisions with them as well. It was nice, having friends. A warm feeling bubbled inside him. He liked this a lot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The car slowly stopped. Thomas opened his eyes to see his new apartment building. “We’re here,” Logan announced. Thanking him and Mr. Dee for the ride, he hopped out of the car and entered the complex. After entering the apartment and seeing his parents in the living room watching some reality show, he finally could breathe. The door clicked behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thomas! Welcome home!” His mother noticed him come in. “How was your first day at school?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas smiled. “Exhausting, but I really love it here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mother smiled. “That’s good. You came rather late, what happened?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll, uh, tell you later,” Thomas headed upstairs. “I think I’m gonna take a nap, k?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, dear!” They smiled at each other and Thomas walked into his room. There, he dropped the bag by his bed and collapsed onto the soft surface. In no time at all, he was fast asleep.</span>
</p>
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